There is 1 American in space right now. She still managed to cast a vote.
![Astronaut Kate Rubins … on Earth.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TDeb8mFhnp8wLZrDtLDceC-594-80.jpg)
Kate Rubins joined the 47 million people who have voted in the U.S. election so far on Thursday when she cast her ballot from 254 miles above the surface of the Earth.
Rubins is the only American currently in space, working alongside Russian astronauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov at the International Space Station. Seeing as she isn't due to return to the ol' blue marble before April 2021, she chose to cast her vote from orbit, which has been an option for U.S. astronauts since 1997.
Rubins previously voted in the 2016 election from the space station as well, listing her address at the time as "low-Earth orbit." As she explained to The Associated Press, "I think it's really important for everybody to vote. If we can do it from space, then I believe folks can do it from the ground, too."
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![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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